CIF NORCAL REGIONALS
First-round schedule: Boys, girls
Boys: Top storyline
Salesian has been the No. 1 team in Northern California for much of the season. Sunday, the Richmond powerhouse was rewarded with the No. 1 overall seed in the CIF Northern California regionals. The Pride are back in the Open Division for the first time since 2019 after beating De La Salle for the North Coast Section Open Division title on Friday. Being the top team in the Open is not uncharted territory for the Pride. They also were the No. 1 seed in 2013, 2018 and 2019. Let’s just say those were forgettable regionals for Salesian. The Pride lost their first game on all three occasions, to Sheldon-Sacramento in 2013, Folsom in 2018 and Modesto Christian in 2019. Salesian also made the Open as a No. 8 seed in 2016 and No. 5 seed in 2017. The Pride lost their first game in those years, too, to De La Salle. This time around, Salesian has a bye in the first round on Wednesday, then will play No. 4 seed De La Salle or No. 5 seed Modesto Christian on Saturday night (probably at Contra Costa College) in the regional semifinals. The winner will move on to the final. If the seeds hold, Archbishop Riordan will be waiting in the championship game. The San Francisco school received the No. 2 seed after capturing the Central Coast Section Open Division title with a victory over Archbishop Mitty on Friday. The Crusaders are the only team from the CCS in the NorCal Open. Mitty, which normally has a spot reserved in the top bracket, is the No. 3 seed in Division I. The Monarchs will be at home on Tuesday night to play 14th seeded Dougherty Valley, the NCS’s Division I champion which, like Mitty, was in the Open last season. — Darren Sabedra
Girls: Top storyline
Archbishop Mitty’s McKenna Woliczko takes a shot in the CCS Open final against St. Ignatius on Friday at Santa Clara University. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Archbishop Mitty, as expected, received the top seed in the Open bracket. It’s well-earned. The Monarchs are 28-0 and have defeated every California team on their schedule by at least 25 points. They won their four Central Coast Section playoff games by an average of 42 points on their way to a 32nd section title. MItty’s all-star team, which has super sophomore McKenna Woliczko and future college players Elana Weisman and Belle Bramer, might be tested against the region’s other elite teams in its quest for the program’s first Open state title. The Monarchs will play Folsom (25-5) or Cardinal Newman (28-2) in the semifinals on Saturday night. The good news for Mitty is that it has a bye on Wednesday, which will give UConn-bound McDonald’s All-American Morgan Cheli even more time to prepare for her return after missing the past few weeks with a leg injury. Coach Sue Phillips said she expects Cheli to be good to go Saturday. If the seeds hold, Mitty will face Clovis West at home on March 5 for the NorCal championship. Mitty beat Clovis West 63-43 in the first round last season. –– Joseph Dycus
Boys: Luck of the draw
The San Ramon Valley bench celebrates a 3-point basket against Granada during the NCS Open Division playoffs on Feb. 15. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
No doubt there were a few teams smiling and slapping high-fives after the brackets were unveiled a little after 4 p.m., starting with the San Ramon Valley boys. It’s always a guess to figure out how many teams the CIF will put in the Open Division. Last year, it went with five. In some years, it has gone with the maximum eight. This year, it has six. San Ramon Valley was seventh on the board. As such, the Danville school was seeded No. 1 in the 16-team Division I bracket instead of being the seventh seed in the Open, which would have meant a trip across the Bay Bridge to play the Open’s No. 2 seed, Riordan. For those of you new to the seeding process, here is a quick primer: The CIF does not use enrollment to divide its teams. It instead ranks them. The top five to eight teams are placed into the Open Division. The next 16 are in Division I and on down the line through Division V. Like SRV, Branham and Santa Teresa benefitted from the luck of the draw. The San Jose public schools received No. 1 seeds, Branham in Division II, Santa Teresa in Division IV. Their path to a state final will include only home games through the regionals. Branham was the sixth-ranked team out of the CCS, Santa Teresa the 15th. Athenian, a small school in Danville, also was on the fortunate side of the draw. The NCS Division V runner-up is the No. 1 seed in the NorCal D-V bracket. Athenian has a first-round bye before playing its regional opener in the quarterfinals at home on Thursday. –– Darren Sabedra
Girls: Luck of the draw
DUBLIN – Oakland Tech forward Jhai Johnson (5) grabs a rebound against Edge Academy-Canada. (Joseph Dycus/Bay Area News Group)
Pinewood went from the No. 4 seed in the CCS Open to the top seed in NorCal’s Division I bracket, which is a best-case scenario for longtime coach Doc Scheppler. The Panthers are seeking a sixth state title, their first since 2014. Pinewood’s road to Sacramento will run through its home court in Los Altos Hills. That should give an edge to Pinewood’s deadeye shooters, who make 37 percent of their 3-pointers on 29 attempts per game. Branham won the CCS Division I title on Saturday, and instead of being penalized for its success with a low seed in Division I, the Bruins received the top seed in Division II. Few teams at that level can match up with 6-foot-4 post Quinn Godfrey, who scored 32 points and grabbed 19 rebounds against Evergreen Valley in the title game. Oakland Tech is on that short list of teams that have the height to match up with Branham. A year after winning the D-I state title, Oakland Tech (11-16) had to forfeit six non-league games after playing an ineligible player this season. The Bulldogs cruised through the Oakland Section to clinch a NorCal spot, and even though their own coach Leroy Hurt insisted that his team should play in Division I, the state seeded Tech No. 10 in Division II. Future major college basketball wings Jhai Johnson, Terri’A Russell and Taliyah Logwood have already proven they can thrive against Division I competition, and are now playing a step down while a year older and wiser. — Joseph Dycus
Boys: Short end of the stick
Dougherty Valley’s Aadi Malali reacts after his team defeated Dublin for the NCS Division I title on Saturday. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Let’s be clear. Even for teams that didn’t get the best seed, it’s not all bad. We’re sure there are hundreds of eliminated teams across the region that would trade places with them without any hesitation. But things could always be better. Dublin left its home gym on Saturday night trying to pick up the pieces after falling to rival Dougherty Valley in the NCS Division I final. Sunday, the Gaels came within a whisker of being the No. 1 seed in Division II. Instead, they are the No. 16 seed in Division I and will travel to the Central Valley on Tuesday to play top-seeded Clovis West. Head-Royce might have even gotten a shorter piece of the stick than Dublin. The Oakland school celebrated winning an NCS Division V title on Friday over league rival Athenian. Head-Royce was given a No. 16 seed in Division III. It will open the regionals on the road against top-seeded Santa Cruz. To make a state final, Head-Royce will have to win four road games. Athenian, the top seed in Division V, can make it to the state finals in Sacramento with three wins, all at home. Los Gatos also didn’t get the best of draws either after winning the CCS Division I title on Saturday. The Wildcats were seeded 13th in Division II and will open on Tuesday at No. 4 Bishop O’Dowd, which lost in the NCS Division I semifinals to Dougherty Valley. The path for Dougherty Valley isn’t that great, either, as the 13th seed in Division I. — Darren Sabedra
Girls: Short end of the stick
San Ramon Valley watches as Cardinal Newman receives its first-place medals after the NCS Open Division title game (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
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After losing to Cardinal Newman in the NCS Open final, San Ramon Valley coach John Cristiano hoped that his team would be the top seed in Division I. CIF didn’t grant his wish, seeding the Wolves sixth in the Open. San Ramon Valley is a talented team that has won 28 of its 30 games, but it lacks the top-end talent and size that it will see in the Open. Even if SRV somehow wins on the road Wednesday against St. Mary’s-Stockton, it will only get tougher in the semifinals on Saturday at Clovis West, which has a bye on Wednesday. … Salesian got off to a slow start after graduating several key contributors from last season’s NorCal Open runner-up but has rounded into form down the stretch. Saturday, the Pride defeated California 56-48 in the NCS Division I title game. Instead of being a high seed in Division II, the perennial power from Richmond was saddled with the No. 12 seed in a challenging Division I bracket. … Northgate had a good regular season as a solid team from the Diablo Athletic League, and then pulled off a couple of upsets in the NCS Division II bracket before falling 50-41 to No. 1 seed Redwood in the championship game. The Broncos reward for their great run? The No. 16 seed in Division III and a visit to No. 1 University-San Francisco. How good is University? The Red Devils were comfortable scheduling Archbishop Mitty this season. Does it matter that Mitty pounded them by 62? We’re about to find out. – Joseph Dycus